Telescoping metal pallet



(IOL

G. L. MORRIS TELESCOPING METAL PALLET Filed Jan. 13, 1955 Oct. 20, 1959 FIJ-4 INVENTOR.

GEORGE l.. MORRIS.l BY

ATTY.

United States Patent C TELESCOPING METAL PALLET George L. Morris, Winchendon, Mass., assiguor of ouehalf to Millard R. Hurst, Hamilton, Ohio Application January 13, 1955, Serial No. 481,659

1 Claim. (Cl. 248-120) This invention relates to the transfer of paper or other similar material in the'form of sheets which must be rmly supported in flat condition.

It is customary to ship such flat material in units of substantial thickness and of very considerable weight. It is also customary to provide :a strong and rigid support or pallet to underlie and support the paper sheets, and this pallet must preferably be of the same area as the sheets to be supported but not substantially larger than the sheets. Also, the `units to be transported vary substantially `in width and length in different lots and in different shipments.

Pallets as heretofore used have commonly been of wood and of fixed lsize. This requires the carrying of a large supply of pallets of different sizes, and the full-size pallets are too bulky and heavy to warrant return shipment. Consequently, a new pallet has to be included as part of the cost of each shipping unit of flat paper or other similar material.

It is the gener-al object of my invention to provide a telescoping metal pal-let which may be conveniently adjusted to desired width and length, and which may be readily telescoped to much less bulk for return shipment.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will 4be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan View of my improved pallet in telescoped condition, but rwith its extended position shown in broken lines;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional elevation, taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Pigs. 3, 4 and 5 are si-milar detail sectional elevations but showing modified constructions;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation similar to Fig. 2 but showing provision for securing a tie wire thereto; and

Fig. 7 is a partial side elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow 7 in Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, my improved pallet comprises a metal framework F which may be conveniently formed `of sheet metal `angle-iron 'sections 10, welded together in lattice form as indicated in Fig. l, and preferably Ihaving thev angular cross section indicated in Fig. 2.

An additional end section 11 and an additional side section 12 are provided, and these additional sections have lateral projections 14 and 15. These projections are also preferably of angular cross section land are positioned and adapted to slide in the associated angle sections 1t) of the main frame F. These main frame sections have their edge portions 16 and 17 bent to form guiding channels for the projections 14 and 15.

Set screws 35 (Fig. `l) may be provided to maintain and 12.

Patented Oct. v20, 1959 riice desired telesooping relations of the sections 11 and 12.

A separate corner member 20 is provided with a projection 21 adapted to extend into the end section 11 `and to be slidably supported therein. The corner member 20 also has a projection 22 supported Iby and slidable in the side section 12.

All of the projections, as 14, 15, 21 and 22, are of substantial length, so that the end section 11 and the side `section 12 will be rrnly supported. The projection 14a is the only exception, the length of this element being cut short to 4clear the position of one of the projections 15, but even the relatively short projection 14a affords substantial support for the end section y11.

A pallet constructed as above described can be shipped and stored in telescoped condition, both endwise and sidewise, and may be readily extended to any desired size to correspond tothe size of the sheets to be transported. Each pallet is thus adapted to support a considerable range of sizes, both as to width and length, and the number of diierent size pallets required will be relatively very small.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I have shown a convenient construction by -which a tie wire W maybe conveniently applied. For this purpose, a series of tongues 36 may be stamped or pressed out of the outer vertical edge portions of certain angle sections 1l) Iforming the frame F, or from the vertical edge portions of the end and side sections 11 These tongues provide rrn and secure anchorage for an ordinary binding wire W, which wire may thus take the place of the usual and more expensive metal strapping which encircles the entire package.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the section 16a as formed of rectangular tubing, and I have shown the projection 15a as also formed of rectangular tubing.

In Fig. 4 the construction is similar to Fig. 3, except that the section tlb and the projection 15b are both formed of sheet metal bent to rectangular section but with the edge portions left free and spaced apart.

In Fig. 5 a construction is shown in which both the trame memberV section 10c and the projection 15C are of unbalanced cross section. It will be noted, however, that the cross sections` of the parts 10c and 15C are identical,

so that it is only necessary to invert one of these parts to form the assembly as shown. This construction has the advantage olf extreme rigidity and 4also as involving the use of only one kind of material and of a single cross section for the entire pallet.

Having thus described my invention and certain modications thereof, it will be seen that I have provided a very rigid and substantial pallet involving a minimum of material and readily telescoping to a much reduced size for return shipment and storage.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the `details herein disclosed, 'otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is:

A unitary but adjustable telescoping metal pallet comprising a rigid met-al main frame forming the major part of said pallet and of open lattice-type construction and having longitudinal and transverse frame members permanently welded together and each frame member having a freely projecting portion open at its free end, a separate and adjustable side bar having lateral projections telescoping in said transverse open-end portions, a separate and adjustable end bar having lateral projections telescoping in said longitudinal open-end portions, said projecting open-end portions being of angle-iron construction but with re-curved guiding edges, and the lateral projections of said side bar and said end bar being 0f 3 i 4 smaller angle-iron construction, and each projection being 1 References Cited in the file of this patent slidable in an associated open-end portion of the main UNITED STATES PATENTS frame, angular and slidable means to connect the adjacent ends of `said side and end bars in all relative posi- 904091 Sarklslan NOV 17 1908 tions thereof, and means to hold said side and end bars 5 sm' "Slty E and connecting portlon 1n adjusted relatlon to said mam 2,405,535 Weiss Aug. 6! 1946 rame 2,739,776 Terando Mar.27, 1956 

